Hammer's words left Fleet Admiral Kong completely bewildered.
Was there really anything more important right now than Roger becoming the Pirate King?
"Kong, don't let the Five Elders influence your judgment."
"Roger becoming the Pirate King is already an established fact."
"Instead of obsessing over him, you should be thinking about the consequences that will follow."
Hammer lit a cigar and took a deep drag.
"If Roger had truly learned something on the final island, he would have already acted."
"But he didn't."
"What intelligence did we receive?"
"That bastard disbanded the Roger Pirates."
At those words, the entire room fell silent.
Roger's recent actions really were difficult to understand.
"And another thing."
"Why did Roger choose this exact point in time to complete his voyage through the Grand Line?"
"Combining that with his current behavior and my previous encounters with him, I am one hundred percent certain of one thing."
"Roger absolutely has some unspeakable secret."
"Or, to put it more simply..."
"He's dying."
What was a bolt from the blue?
That statement.
The declaration that Roger was dying stunned everyone present.
A newly crowned Pirate King was dying?
Who would believe such a thing?
"Hammer, your conclusion is far too sudden."
"Do you have any evidence?"
Kong felt like his brain had just been vaporized.
'Roger was dying?'
'How was that possible?'
Hammer shrugged casually.
"No evidence."
"I'm not a member of the Roger Pirates, after all."
"The only people who truly understand Roger are his crew."
"This is merely a reasonable deduction based on his abnormal behavior."
"And from what I know of him..."
"If disbanding the Roger Pirates is step one, then he definitely has an even greater ambition in mind."
"Who knows?"
"He might even come and surrender himself to us."
What was Hammer doing?
He was gradually leading the Marines toward accepting his predictions, allowing them to react more quickly when the Great Age of Pirates arrived.
Why didn't Hammer try to stop Roger?
Why should he?
Only when the Great Age of Pirates began and chaos spread would the Marines gain greater importance.
That would benefit him as well.
All he needed to do was prepare in advance so the coming storm wouldn't hit quite as violently.
"Even if part of what you're saying makes sense, I still can't believe Roger would surrender himself."
"We'll stick to the original plan."
"Capture Roger."
"Since Garp has already departed, he'll handle the mission."
Hearing Kong issue his orders, Hammer remained calm.
He never expected everything to go smoothly from the start.
Once Roger actually appeared, they would have no choice but to believe him.
After the meeting ended, Hammer gave Sakazuki a meaningful look.
Sakazuki was momentarily confused but nodded.
When all the officers had left, only four people remained inside the massive conference room: Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, and Hammer.
"Hammer."
"You said you didn't come here because of the Roger Pirates."
"Then why did you return to Headquarters?"
Kong looked at Hammer, who was still smoking his cigar.
He wanted to know what this troublemaker was planning.
"I want to borrow Teacher Zephyr."
Kong: ????
Sengoku: ????
Tsuru: ...Sigh.
"You little bastard, what did you just say?"
"Zephyr is Marine Headquarters' Chief Instructor!"
"You want to take him away?"
"What exactly are you planning?"
Kong's spit nearly covered Hammer's entire face.
The moment Kong opened his mouth, Sengoku discreetly slid his chair backward and narrowly escaped the blast.
"Come on, old man."
"Can you speak properly?"
"Look, you even put out my cigar!"
Hammer wiped his face with obvious disgust.
"You're becoming more outrageous by the day!"
"Do you know who Zephyr is?"
"He's a former Admiral!"
"The current head of the Elite Training Camp!"
"And you want to transfer him to your G-88 Branch?"
"At this rate, are you planning to transfer me there too after I retire?"
How could Kong not be furious?
Every time Hammer opened his mouth, he either asked for money or authority.
This time was even worse.
He had set his sights on upper management.
Even retired upper management was still upper management.
"You?"
"Forget it."
"If I bring Teacher Zephyr over, he can help train my soldiers."
"If I bring you over, I'd have to build a shrine and worship you."
"I don't want that."
Hammer looked at Kong with obvious disdain.
The Fleet Admiral nearly lost control.
"G-88 is located in the New World."
"The five hundred soldiers under my command have followed me through countless battles."
"I want Teacher Zephyr to help train them for a while."
"Besides, Teacher Zephyr has Cloud Armor too."
"He can fly there with me."
"Traveling back and forth would be easy."
Hammer had already planned out Zephyr's commute.
At this point, even Sengoku and Tsuru couldn't tolerate it anymore.
"You bastard!"
"He's your father figure and your teacher!"
"Don't you feel bad treating him like this?"
Sengoku put down his gauntlets and joined the attack.
"How am I mistreating him?"
"I'll fly him there myself."
"And honestly, isn't it boring to spend all day training recruits at Headquarters?"
"What's wrong with letting him relax at my branch for a while?"
"If necessary, we can just move the training camp there too."
"It's not even that far."
Hammer remained completely unfazed.
Zephyr should have retired long ago.
Instead, he insisted on training soldiers.
If he was going to keep training people, he might as well train Hammer's troops.
Then afterward he could peacefully retire in Green Bit.
More importantly, Hammer had noticed something.
Princess ManShirley of the Tontatta Tribe likely already possessed the powers of the Heal-Heal Fruit.
Bringing Zephyr to Green Bit would give him a much better chance of recovering from his chronic illnesses.
"You're doing this for Zephyr's rest?"
"You literally just said you wanted him to train your soldiers!"
"Hmph! Zephyr isn't going anywhere!"
Kong looked ready to explode.
"Really?"
"You won't let me take Teacher Zephyr?"
"Then do you believe me when I say I'll reduce Headquarters' supply allocation?"
Hammer crossed his legs and instantly transformed into a street thug.
He looked at Kong with complete indifference.
"You bastard!!!"
"You dare threaten me?!"
Seeing Kong on the verge of losing control, Sengoku hurried over to calm him down.
At the same time, Tsuru finally spoke.
"Hammer."
"Why must it be Zephyr?"
"From what I know, Lance and Shirley are already quite strong."
"You also have Momonga at your branch."
"Isn't that enough?"
Hammer could play tricks on Kong and Sengoku.
But he still respected Tsuru greatly.
He sighed helplessly.
"I don't want to do this either, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru."
"But Old Man Zephyr's health is getting worse."
"Asthma can't be cured."
"And after his battle with Whitebeard, the hidden injuries inside his body were aggravated by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's vibrations."
"His condition is only going to deteriorate."
"If he stays where he is now, it'll only get worse."
"Most importantly..."
"I found traces of the Paramecia-type Heal-Heal Fruit in Green Bit."
"If everything goes as expected, Teacher Zephyr's body could be completely healed within a few years."
The moment those words were spoken, Kong's fury instantly disappeared.
'Damn it, Hammer.'
'Why didn't you say that from the beginning?!'